She was born Gisèle Marie-Louise Marguerite LaFlèche in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and studied violin and voice at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, Ontario. She had her own Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio program, Meet Gisèle, before moving to Los Angeles, California in 1951.
MacKenzie recorded albums and 45rpm singles on various record labels, most notably Capitol and RCA. Her biggest selling song was "Hard To Get" in 1955.
MacKenzie was an accomplished violinist and performed many comedic musical duets with mentor Jack Benny. She sang frequently on early television shows such as The Jack Benny Program and The Ed Sullivan Show. She appeared often at Las Vegas venues and in numerous North America concerts.
In the U.S., she appeared on radio on such stars' programs as Bob Crosby and Mario Lanza. She also hosted a radio show entitled Airtime.
In 1952 and 1953 she toured with Benny, who recommended her for Your Hit Parade. During her tenure on that show, "Hard to Get" became a hit. MacKenzie appeared on the show for several years, finally leaving in 1957 to head her own short-lived variety program, The Gisèle MacKenzie Show. She returned to television in 1963 on The Sid Caesar Show and was a panelist on many quiz programs.
In later years MacKenzie performed widely in musical theater in such shows as Mame, Gypsy, The Sound of Music, and Hello, Dolly! She turned to acting in the 1990s, making guest appearances on television series including Murder, She Wrote and MacGyver.
MacKenzie has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 1601 Vine.
She died from colon cancer, aged 76, in 2003. Her daughter is contemporary jazz artist Gigi MacKenzie.
Hard to Get
Gisele Mackenzie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You wanted my kisses
When first we met
How you wanted my kisses
They were hard to get
'Til I was sure your love was true
Then I gave you all my heart
And all my kisses, too
I wish that I'd been smart
And never adored you
You broke my heart
Easy kisses just bored you
But the day will come
When you will find to your regret
A love as true as mine
Is hard to get
I wish that I'd been smart
And never adored you
You broke my heart
Easy kisses just bored you
But the day will come
When you will find to your regret
A love as true as mine
Is hard to get
In Gisele Mackenzie's song "Hard to Get," the singer reflects on a past relationship where her partner pursued her intensely when her affection was difficult to obtain. She reflects on the irony that now that she has given her love fully and completely, her partner has lost interest in her. The first verse describes how her partner initially sought her out, craving her affection and kisses when they were "hard to get." As the relationship progressed and she grew more sure of her partner's love, she gave herself completely to him, including her heart and kisses. However, in the end, her partner was not satisfied with easy, readily available love and broke her heart.
The second verse finds the singer regretting her decision to love so fully and give her heart so readily to someone who didn't appreciate its value. She laments how easy kisses, or love that comes too easily, bored her partner and ultimately led to their breakup. She concludes the song by warning her former partner that he will eventually regret letting her go and failing to recognize the true value of a love that is hard to get.
Through the song, Mackenzie explores themes of love, desire, and the ultimately elusive nature of true love. She also highlights the dangers of giving oneself too easily in a relationship, warning listeners to guard their hearts and hold out for someone who recognizes their worth.
Line by Line Meaning
When they were hard to get
When my kisses were not easy to get, you desired them
You wanted my kisses
You desired my kisses
When first we met
When we met for the first time
How you wanted my kisses
You badly wanted my kisses
They were hard to get
My kisses were not easy to get
Til I was sure your love was true
Until I was confident that your love for me was genuine
Then I gave you all my heart
I gave you my entire heart
And all my kisses, too
I gave you all my kisses as well
I wish that I'd been smart
I regret not being wise enough earlier
And never adored you
I regret loving you
You broke my heart
You hurt me by breaking my heart
Easy kisses just bored you
You were easily bored by easy kisses
But the day will come
A day will come in the future
When you will find to your regret
When you will realize with remorse
A love as true as mine
A love as genuine as mine
Is hard to get
Is not easy to find
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jack Segal
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@francisalanwormald6328
AT 82 I STUMBLED ON THIS...NOT A GREAT FAVE, BUT A REKINDLED MEMORY OF THE SONG & SONGSTRESS PRECIOUS MEMORY...RIP
@jeffj9322
Remembering Gisèle MacKenzie born on January 10, 1927. She was a Canadian-American singer, actress, and commercial spokesperson, best known for her performances on the US television program Your Hit Parade. MacKenzie recorded albums and singles on various record labels, most notably Capitol and RCA, Everest, Mercury, Liberty Sunset, Cricket Playhour (Pickwick). In 1953 she reached No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart, with her rendition of "Seven Lonely Days". Her biggest selling song was "Hard To Get" in 1955. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gisele_MacKenzie
@sauquoit13456
On this day in 1955 {May 12th} Gisele MacKenzie played a singer on the NBC-TV half-hour drama series 'Justice'... On the show she performed the song "Hard To Get"; one month later on June 4th it entered Billboard's Hot 100, eventually it peaked at #4 on Billboard's Best Sellers chart and spent 19 weeks on the Top 100... Ms. MacKenzie passed away on September 5th, 2003 at the age of 76... May she R.I.P.
@dejathoris3181
Thank you for uploading this record. It brought back memories. Great words and melody. Nice to be able to understand the words and have someone with a great voice singing a song. Oh, the good old days.
@mkl62
This hit by Gisele Mackenzie came in at #27 at the end of 1955. 1955; the year that the music industry changed forever. That occured on July 9, 1955 when Bill Haley and His Comets hit #1 with Rock Around the Clock, signifying the start of the Rock Era.
@CarlDuke
Thanks for posting this great song. Wonderful montage.
@sauquoit13456
On this day in 1953 {September 19th} Gisele MacKenzie joined the cast of the NBC-TV program 'Your Hit Parade'... She remained on the show until 1957... {See the next post below}...
@myfamilytvchannel9977
Nice one
@recordman4863
great favorite on the x lable 1955
@corinnejrodriguezmontoya4309
Thank you for your music! I grew up listening to this and appreciate your work in posting these to youtube. Good music never fades away!